A walk through the ages, 350 years of history jam-packed into 8 hectares of ground, that’s the Company’s Garden!

“…there is a garden which the Company has had made; I should very much like to see it in a corner of Versailles. There are walks, as far as the eye can see, through orange trees and lemon trees, through the kitchen gardens, espaliers and dwarf trees, and all that intersected by streams of running water”, so wrote Abbé de Choisy in 1685.

Today, you will explore a greatly transformed garden as you follow the shrill cry of Hadeda ibises and Egyptian geese, gambol with the squirrels, sit quietly in the shade of ancient trees and contemplate the story of the Cape. Meet Queen Victoria, Governor Grey, Jan Smuts, Cecil John Rhodes, Sir Henry Lukin, Castor and Pollux. Imagine heated arguments in the National Parliament; enjoy the quiet of the National Library; marvel at exhibits in the Art Gallery and Museum and, if you are lucky enough, you may bite into a pear of the oldest fruit tree in the garden, the Saffron Pear.

Hello, and welcome to Cape Town. I have written several books about Cape Town and the greater region. I am a tour guide and regularly conduct walking tours around Cape Town. I also speak several languages and have lived in Cape Town for over fifty years. It is my home, I love it and I hope to make you fall in love with our city as well. I can't show you all the places of interest, nor can I take you to all the monuments and statues. All I can do is dangle that proverbial carrot before your nose to tempt you to explore further.